


Where Do Broken Hearts Go?

by Not_All_Heroes_Wear_Capes



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-25
Updated: 2017-10-04
Packaged: 2019-01-05 08:07:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 21,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12186171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Not_All_Heroes_Wear_Capes/pseuds/Not_All_Heroes_Wear_Capes





	1. Niall POV

************

The sun is shining through the curtains and it’s beaming down onto my face, making me groan and waking me up. I turn to my side and sigh as I lay my hand out to rest on Liam’s sleeping body but when I do, my hand hits the cold mattress instead. I open my eyes, sit up in bed and look around the room, I read the alarm clock on the bedside table, it reads 8:15am and I’m confused right now. It’s way too early for Liam to be up on a Sunday and I shake my head as I get out of bed, pull on a pair of shorts and I head downstairs where I’m met with an empty living room, Liam’s nowhere to be seen and again I’m very confused, I have no idea where my fiancé is and it’s starting to scare me. Liam never leaves in the morning without saying goodbye and he doesn’t leave without leaving a coffee or tea on my bedside table.

I walk into the kitchen and it’s also empty, I look around the kitchen to see if Liam’s left any explanation as to where he is but no luck on that front. I shrug my shoulders and walk towards the fridge when something glistens in the sunlight, catching my eye, I walk over and I can see what looks to be Liam’s engagement ring sitting in the middle of the kitchen top and underneath is a folded piece of paper. I pick up the paper with shaking hands and I open it, reading the words written on the page,

_Niall,_

_Please don’t be mad at me okay? This is something I don’t want to have to do especially since I know it’s going to break your heart in the process. As you will notice my engagement ring is sitting on the kitchen side, you might be confused to see it sitting on the side but when you read this note it will all make sense…_

_I don’t know how you’re going to take this news but I must be honest with you, I’ve been seeing someone else for the last few months. I didn’t want to have to tell you over a note but I had no other option but to do it otherwise I would never have done it and I would have just kept on hurting you without you knowing. I love you but not in the way I used to and it’s hard for me to say it but it’s true, I just don’t. I’ve fallen in love with someone else and it kills me to tell you._

_You’re probably wondering where I am and if I woke up to find you gone I would be thinking the same thing, I’m gone and I’m never coming back. I’m sorry, I know you probably don’t believe it but I truly am._

_I want to let you know that if I’ve left anything you have my permission to throw it away, which I know you probably would, considering what I’ve done to you._

_Goodbye Niall,_

_Liam  
xx _

I let the paper fall from his hands and it lands on the floor next to my foot, I can’t believe what’s happening to me right now. I let out a sob as I fall to the floor and bring my knees up to my chest, I’m shaking with rage right now but that’s being overtaken by the sadness and devastation I feel. I lay my head on the cupboard behind me and I wipe the tears falling from my eyes, thoughts are running through my head of who it would be Liam’s fallen in love with and possibly left me for. I hope it isn’t Harry, those two have always been close and the thought that it could be Harry is killing me inside even more.

My legs shake as I get up and I can’t stand in that kitchen and look at that rings sitting right in front of me, I haul myself upstairs and before I do anything else I walk into the bedroom and the first thing I do is pull the quilt off the bed, take the quilt cover off and throw it in a heap on the floor in the hallway. I grab the quilt off the floor and wraps it around myself before climbing onto the bed, I lay there looking out the window as I let the tears fall from my eyes. I reach out and grab my phone and ring Louis who picks up in a couple of rings and answers the phone, before Louis can say anything I speak up,

“I need you”

I let out another sob and I hang up the phone and tighten my grip on it as I look at the photo of Liam and I on my bedside table. I wrap myself tighter in the quilt and continue to stare at the photos.

 


	2. Louis POV

***LOUIS POV***

I’ve woken up next some random guy I must’ve gone home with last night, I look over at the guy and my head hurts thinking about his name but I just can’t be bothered to remember. I grab my phone and look at the time, I realise I need to get out of this house before the other guy wakes up. I quickly get dressed and leave without making a noise, I close the front door quietly and I head down the street. My head is hurting and all I need right now is to go home and rest before Zayn gets home and makes a lot of noise.

I pull out the packet of cigarettes I have from my jacket pocket and I light one up just as my phone buzzes in my pocket. I read the name at the top of my screen, my heart beats fast and I smile brightly as the voice flows through the speaker, but my smile soon falters when I hear Niall’s trembling voice,

“I need you”

The phone cuts off and I pulls it away from my ear thinking my phones run out of battery but I’ve just been hung up on but right now I can’t care about it, I start to worry and I call a taxi. I get to Niall’s as quick as I can and I pull out the key Niall gave me and I open the door to an empty looking flat,

“Niall?”

I shout out hoping Niall answers but he doesn’t so I goe through to the kitchen first to see a piece of paper on the floor, I lean down and pick it up, I read it and by the time I’m finished reading it anger is flaring up inside me. I let go of the piece of paper as I climb the stairs, I quickly step over the discarded quilt covers on the floor in the hallway. I push open the bedroom door to see Niall in the middle of the bed in a heap and my heart breaks knowing that my best friend and the guy I’m madly in love with is bawling his eyes out underneath the quilt. I rush over to him and shake his shoulder, Niall looks up at me and lets out a quiet sob before he wipes the tears from his eyes,

“Oh Niall, come here”

I pull Niall in for a hug and I hold onto him tightly, not wanting to let him go. I lay down next to Niall and we both sit in silence, the only sounds filling the room are the sounds of our breathing. I find myself having to hold back my own tears as I lay on the bed with my best friend crying in my arms. I don’t know why Liam would do this to Niall but all I know is that I want to hurt Liam for hurting Niall. I run my hands through Niall’s hair, trying to calm him down and every time Niall lets out a sob my heart breaks for him.


	3. Niall POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For each change of POV I will start using #### to indicate it...

Once I start to calm down I turn around to see Louis laying behind me with his arm around my waist, I move my arm carefully as I slide out of bed and trudge down the stairs. I walk round the house before looking at the ring sitting on the kitchen side, I walk over to the side and pick up the ring before throwing it at the wall, tears are streaming down my face and I can’t help but find anything that reminds me of Liam and when I do I throw everything not caring if I break something, I just don’t care right now.

I walk into the living room and I pick up the picture closest to me and I throw it at the wall like I did with everything else. I’m crying even more than I was before and all I want to do is to stop, I want to stop crying but I know that it’s not going to happen for a while. I stand in the middle of the room, I breathe heavily as I slide down the wall closest to the stairs. I rest my head in my hands and I let out a couple of quiet sobs.

I hate feeling like this and I just wish this didn’t happen to me…

**LOUIS POV**

I’m in the middle of a nice dream when I wake up to the sound of things being thrown and I’m pretty sure I can hear some glass smashing too. I sit up and look next to me to see Niall gone, the first thing I think of is, where is he. I hear a crash and I’m out of bed before anything else can happen. I rush down the stairs to see the whole living room in a mess, I take in the sight of broken picture frames and the way some of the couch cushions have been strewn across the floor. I look down at my side and I look directly at Niall and I get down on my knees and pull Niall in for a hug, I hold onto him like I did before when we were upstairs.

“Hey, it’s okay, everything’s going to be okay” I kiss the top of Niall’s head as Niall lets out another quiet sob. I pull my phone out of my pocket and send out a quick text to Zayn,

_‘At Niall’s, need your help’_

Zayn texts back within a couple of seconds,

**_Z:  
‘Sure, be there as quick as I can’_ **

I turn my attention back to Niall, he grabs my hand and I hold onto his, stroking my fingers lightly in his palm as I know it calms him down. I pick up one of the pictures Niall threw and I look at it carefully, it’s a picture of the five of us, Liam, Niall, Harry, Zayn and myself. It must’ve been taken a few months ago after Harry’s birthday, I examine the photo and I can see just how happy Liam looked. If anything, Liam looks very happy and I can’t for the life of me figure out why Liam’s only now just told Niall he’s not happy. Anger flares up inside me and I feel like I’m about to cry but I don’t when I hear the front door open and Zayn walks through,

“What happened here?”

I looks up at Zayn and I mouth to Zayn, ‘Liam left’. Zayn walks over and wraps Niall up into a hug just like I did a few minutes ago. The three of us are sitting there in complete silence not wanting to move just yet, Niall stops sobbing and he looks up at Zayn and weakly smiles, he then turns to me and does the same,

“Thanks guys”

“Hey, it’s not a problem”

Niall stands up and I pull him back down onto the floor and I give him a pointed look, “Hold on” I pulls Niall up gently, tell him it’s okay to jump on my back and I take him over to the kitchen and I sit him on the barstool closest to the doorway, “Stay here, I’ll make tea” Niall smiles and nods his head, watching me walk away into the living room. I join Zayn who’s standing and trying to step on the glass,

“What happened? What did you mean when you said Liam left?”

“Liam’s gone, he left a note and everything but he’s gone for good” I hand Zayn the note and he has the same expressions and feelings that I did when I read the note, Zayn scrunches the paper up and throws it at the wall,

“That dick! What the hell does he mean by he’s fallen out of love with Niall but in love with someone else? That’s bullshit if you ask me”

“I know, but we don’t really know if that’s the whole reason and if I’m being honest I don’t want to know”

The two of us stand in the middle of the living room examining the mess Niall’s made, it doesn’t look like a lot to clean up but it needs to be cleaned. Zayn starts cleaning the room as I walk into the kitchen to start making the tea. I look at Niall and if I’m being honest Niall looks like crap, his eyes are red and puffy and it breaks my heart,

“Hey, stop crying okay? he’s not worth your tears”

Niall sniffles and wipes his eyes as he looks into my eyes, “I know, it just hurts”

“Of course, it would, your fiancé's just told you in a note he’s leaving you for someone else. Which is a bit of a dick move if you ask me”

The kettles boils and I grab it and pour the water into three cups before stepping round the island and sitting down next to Niall on the barstools, I grab Niall's hand and I look at him, reassuring him that I’m here for him if he needs.  



	4. Niall POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know all the chapters are short but I will try to make them a bit longer as I go along...although I doubt anybody's reading this...

**NIALL POV**

The three of us are sat in the middle of the floor in the living room watching something we found on Netflix, I’ve been crying on and off the last few hours but I’ve finally stopped. I feel like I’ve cried enough tears for today, I cuddle into Zayn’s side as Louis rests his hand on my leg  and he’s tracing patterns with his fingers. I feels comfortable and peaceful, I’m thankful for Louis and Zayn and how they did their best to distract me, they made sure that I was okay.

When the other two get up to do their own thing I pull out my phone and click on the Facebook app, I know I shouldn’t do it but I can’t help himself. I scroll down my newsfeed and my eyes land on something that makes me sick to my stomach, it’s a photo Harry’s posted and it’s a photo of Liam driving his car and looking out the window, he’s posted the picture with the caption,

_‘Can’t wait to start a new chapter in our lives’_

I drop the phone on the floor in front of me and I find myself holding back the tears that are trying to escape, I try hard but it’s just no use, I let the tears fall. I bite my lip to hold back a sob but again it’s just no use, I let it out and I find himself losing all control of my emotions again. I can hear Louis and Zayn walking around the kitchen and I’m hoping they don’t hear but I’m unlucky, they’ve both heard and they’re running into the living room and rushing over to me and once again, they’re holding onto me as tight as they can as my body shakes.

“Hey, what happened?”

I shake my head and point to my phone on the floor in front of me, I don’t know who picks it up but I know that it’s Zayn quietly mumbling something, Louis yells out scaring me and Zayn,

“Fuck!”

“Louis, calm down” Zayn sits next to me and growls at Louis,

“Zayn how can you sit here and be calm!? Our best friend is sitting here on the couch crying his eyes out because his fiancé and our so-called best friend have run off together! if I were you I’d be pretty pissed off!”

“Louis, just calm down, you’re not helping in fact I’m pretty sure your upsetting Niall even more!”

Louis realises that he’s upsetting me, he sits down next to me and kisses my forehead. He sighs as he rests his chin on my head, “I’m sorry babe, I’m just so angry. I can’t believe they would do this to you, to us! I didn’t mean to upset you, I just don’t like seeing you like this”

I cuddle into Louis side more and I let out another quiet sob, Zayn sits down on his knees in front of me and grabs a hold of my hand. The three of us sit in silence with the light from the T.V blaring from behind, we can’t be bothered to move so we all fall asleep.  



	5. Niall POV

I’m the first one to wake up the next morning and for a second I forget everything that happened but it all comes back to me when I look over to see the ring on the floor by the back door. No surprise at all, I feel like shit knowing why it’s there, I move towards the back door and pick it up before placing it on the top of the fridge, hoping I’ll forget it’s there soon.

I fill the kettle up and put it on before walking back into the living room, I join Louis on the floor and cuddle into his side,

“You alright mate? Feeling better?”

“Yeah, little bit. Thanks for everything you did yesterday, I really appreciate it”

“Hey, it’s what we’re here for”

I nod my head as Louis stretches and proceeds to stand up and reaches for me, I grab his hand and he pulls me up. Louis opens his arms and I step into a warm embrace, I let go and turn towards the kitchen,

“I’ve put the kettle on so come in and help me?”

“Okay but only because you asked me nicely”

We kick Zayn on the way into the kitchen and Louis sits on the kitchen side as I finish making the tea, Zayn comes in a few minutes later and he moves towards me, pulling me into his side and kissing my forehead, I look up and smile “You alright Z?”

“Yeah, question is, how are you? You okay?”

“Yeah, was just telling Louis, I’m fine and I want to thank you for last night, I really appreciate it”

“It’s fine mate, anytime”

We spend the rest of the day at Louis insistence, grabbing anything we can find of Liam’s and throwing it in the back garden so we can burn it or do whatever with it. Louis did most of the work, he said to make it easier but I know he just wanted to get most of it out of the house. After we’ve cleaned the house out of what Liam left, I realise he left quite a few things. He left a few shirts and a few other things, Louis will make me do something with them but I’m going to leave them there. We end up keeping all the stuff outside for the rest of the night, Zayn ends up going back to his and Louis flat and Louis stays with me and I can’t help but feel grateful, I might be okay but I know I couldn’t stay in the house by myself, I will probably make myself cry by looking at Liam or Harry’s Facebook. I’ve been left by my fiancé, of course I will check up and what he’s doing.

It’s 2 in the morning and I’m still awake, I’m tossing and turning and my mind being filled with thoughts of what Liam’s doing right now, he’s no doubt enjoying his life now that I’m not in it and he’s probably having the time of his life with Harry. The thought of that makes me rather upset and I feel weird sleeping in the bed that I used to share so I grab my phone and wrap my quilt around my shoulders and I head downstairs. I quietly walk over to the sofa and I’m about to lie down when I look and see a body laying down, I completely forgot Louis was staying with me so I quietly tiptoe out the living room and into the kitchen, I grab a drink from the fridge careful not to wake Louis up.

I walk back into the living room to see Louis sitting up on the sofa, his hair sticking up in different directions and he’s looking at his phone, he looks up and smiles sleepily at me and I do the same,

“What are you doing up? It’s early in the morning”

I sigh and wrap the quilt cover around me tighter “Can’t sleep, you?”

“Heard you in the kitchen, why can’t you sleep?”

“Uh, beds too big for just me, couldn’t stay there, it hurts…reminds me of him”

Louis nods his head, taps the end of the sofa and invites me to join him if I want, I take him up on the offer and sit down on the end, I cross my legs and rest my elbows on my knees, my chin resting on my hands. Louis and I share a look before I decide to crawl over and sit in front of Louis. Louis grabs my hands, reminds me of when we were rooming at uni and Louis first serious boyfriend broke up with him,

“You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah as I said, the beds too big for just me. I’m just so used to sharing with someone that’s all”

“I sort of know what you mean”

I raise an eyebrow at Louis, “Why? You shouldn’t with all of those people you end up taking home when we go out” Louis face twists and I regret saying that, I feel bad, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that, I should have just kept my mouth shut. How about we change the subject?”

“It’s fine, but yeah”

We spend another hour or two talking, it’s clear to the both of us that it’s helping me take my mind off things. We end up getting closer during those two hours and I find myself moving so I’m laying down and sharing the sofa with Louis, we fall asleep a couple of minutes later cuddled together.  



	6. Niall POV

I wake up to the sound of banging in the kitchen, I sit up and my neck feels rather sore and I realise I fell asleep on the sofa and I know I shouldn’t have done that but the smell of food is taking my mind off my sore neck. I look at my phone and it’s the afternoon, I don’t know how long I was asleep for but all I knows is I feel a little bit better, might have been because I was sleeping with someone.

I get up and slip on the jumper I find on the floor next to the coffee table, I drag myself into the kitchen and I’m met with the sight of Louis standing at the cooker. He’s singing and dancing to the song playing on the radio while trying to make sure he doesn’t burn the food, I laugh at the sight and Louis turns around,

“Ah your awake and your smiling!”

“Yeah, no thanks to you and your dancing”

“You love my dancing…how are you this morning?”

“It’s the afternoon and I’m doing better, thanks for last night and this morning. Didn’t mean to wake you up at 2 though”

Louis waves his hand and places a plate full of food in front of me, “It’s fine, here eat something” Louis turns around and grabs his food before sitting down next to me. We eat our food in silence and right now this is all I need, I just need someone to be here with me. it sounds pathetic but I’ve been living with another person for a while so it feels weird to be alone.

I check the time, I wonder if Louis knows what it is? I hope I’m not keeping him from something…

“Shouldn’t you be getting home?”

“Yeah, I wanted to make sure you were going to be fed before I did, and now I know you are, I can go home. I’ll check up on you later?”

“Yeah, sure”

Louis finishes his food and stand up pecking me on the cheek as he walks out the door. The door closes and I find myself sitting around and thinking about what to do, I don’t know what to do now Liam’s not around. Thinking about him is making me feel like shit again so I do what I know I shouldn’t do, I take myself back upstairs and crawl back into bed, silence fills the room as I stare at the ceiling and wallow in sorrow.

I receive a message from Louis,

_‘Don’t go on Facebook for a while okay?’_

I cry as I turn my phone off for the rest of the day.

**####**

I get back to the apartment to find Zayn sitting in the chair looking like he’s been waiting for me to come home, I know he wants to know what’s going on with Niall,

“He alright?”

“Yeah, he’s fine. Was a moment last night I thought he would break down again but he was fine, what about you? you okay?”

“Yeah, just a bit angry but I know it’ll go away”

“I know, still can’t believe he’d do that”

Zayn nods his head, “I think I’m angry with Harry more than anything, I mean after everything Niall did for him and this is how he repays him? By running off with his best mate’s fiancé and leaving us to pick up the pieces! The nerve of him!”

“I know but we can’t do anything about it really”

“I wish we could, but we have to be here for him if he needs. I mean you probably more than me considering…”

“Considering what? what are you talking about?”

Zayn laughs and raises an eyebrow at me, “Louis, I know about you being in love with Niall?”

I laugh at what I’m hearing, but I’m not laughing because it’s funny, I’m laughing because t’s true. I’m in love with Niall and I know that I shouldn’t considering he’s taken, well he used to be? I’m not sure at the moment. I couldn’t do anything about it anyway, Niall’s hurting and I would be taking advantage of him if I told him right now, “How did you know? I thought I was doing a good job at hiding it…”

“Lou, you couldn’t hide it even if you tried!”

“Don’t laugh Zayn!” Zayn continues laughing at me as I walk out the room, “I hate you Malik!”

Zayn laughs at me “You love me!” I shake my head, it’s true though I won’t lie “Unfortunately” I head towards my room, as I open the door I open Facebook and he I bring up the search bar and I type in Liam’s name and I decide to send him a little message, hoping he gets it,

_Hey asshole! Who the fuck do you think you are? You have any idea how much damage you’ve done back here in London? If you don’t it’s a lot, you’ve broken my best friend and you’ve broken my heart as well! Niall loves you to bits and all you can do is fall in love with someone else, you my friend are a prick! Don’t you think for a second I’m going to be your friend after this and same for Zayn, I don’t want to be friends with someone who doesn’t have the guts to tell his fiancé he wants to end it to his face. If I see you, I will have no problems with injuring you!_

_Fuck you and have a nice life!_

I send the message and throw my phone onto the bed, I lay back and stare at the ceiling. I hope Liam feels like shit when he gets the message, I quickly send a similar one to Harry and I hope they get them and feel like shit. I can’t stop thinking about last night so I distract myself hoping I can forget about it all…


	7. Niall POV

It’s been a couple of days and I’ve been keeping myself busy while I’ve got time off, I’ve mostly spent it in bed eating my heartbreak away and watching the season of Supernatural seeing as I haven’t watched it in years. My phone buzzes and I look at the screen to see Louis name for the 7th time in the last hour ½ and just like the past few times I let it ring through, I’ve been avoiding Zayn too but unlike Louis, Zayn stopped trying after the 3rd time I didn’t pick up.

I just don’t feel like seeing anyone let alone talking to anyone, all I want to do is sit in bed or on the couch and be by myself, I might as well get used to it seeing as Liam’s never coming back. The thought of him makes my chest hurt, I focus on the screen to stop myself from thinking of him. I look at the time on my phone and I know I should probably move and do something but I just don’t want to, I haven’t been very productive these past few days. I mean I’ve gotten in the shower but that’s pretty much all I’ve done.

My phone buzzes once again and it’s Zayn this time, _‘Please talk to us? We’ve been going crazy wondering about you…’_ I feel bad for driving Louis crazy by not talking to him but who can blame me? I just don’t want anybody with me for now. My phone buzzes again with another message from Zayn, _‘We miss you xx’_ I turn my phone off and focus back on the screen as the next episode loads. I lay down on the bed and wrap the quilt around me tighter, I find my eyes starting to get tired but every time I close them I open them again. I’ve been doing that for the last few hours, I was able to get some sleep but my mind was being filled of thoughts of Liam and Harry and I couldn’t get them out of my head.

I grab my iPad and I go onto Facebook and I know I really shouldn’t but I do and what I see makes me see red. My heart pounds fast and I feel my fists clench at my side, I don’t know what I’m doing but I get up and walk into the bathroom stopping the tears from falling but when I look at myself in the mirror I give up. I look down at the floor and let the tears fall, I look back at the mirror and I hate the way I look. I grab something and I pull my arm back and scream before throwing the object at the mirror, I just stand there and watch the glass smash into tiny pieces and fall onto the floor.

The glass lands on the floor by my feet and I stand there for a couple of minutes before stepping over the glass and back into the bedroom. I sit on the bed and check my feet for glass but luckily there is none so I get back under the cover and I let tears fall as the next episode of Supernatural comes on. I grab my phone from the bedside table and turn it back on and through the tears I send a message to Louis,

 _‘I need you…again’_ I start to drift off to sleep and my phone vibrates on the pillow next to me and the picture of Liam and Harry together is still there on the iPad.


	8. Louis POV

I’ve been sitting at work, at the tattoo shop while Zayn’s out for the morning doing whatever he does when he’s not a work. I’ve spent the whole morning while there’s no customers thinking about Niall, I’ve been driving myself crazy thinking of reasons as to why he’s gone into hiding and dropped all communication with Zayn and I. it’s starting to scare me, like what if somethings happened to him? I call him again and it rings through again, I sigh as I place my phone on the front desk, I don’t even notice Zayn’s walked in until he smacks me on the shoulder and gives me a coffee. He drops his keys on the desk and lifts my chin up,

“That hurt you know?”

 “Well maybe if you weren’t staring at your phone waiting for Niall to call or text you wouldn’t have been smacked by me…you okay though?”

“Yeah, I’m just a little bit worried about him. He’s never done this before

“I feel the same way but you know this is how Niall copes with stuff, he ignores us but then he’ll text one of us out of the blue”

“You’re right, I should let him have time to himself, god knows he needs it.”

“Exactly!

My phone buzzes with a message and my heart stops for a second but I read it and it’s from Zayn,

_‘Stop worrying! It’s okay’_

I turn around to see him shaking his head and I feel as if he’s judging me right now so I quickly flip him off and turn back to my phone which is vibrating and my heart drops again when I look at the name but this time it’s a name I really want to see, it’s a simple message but my heart breaks and my mind is filled with so many thoughts,

_‘I need you…again’_

I grab my things and yell for Zayn hoping he hears me, “Niall needs me! I’ll be back soon!”

“What happened? Is he okay? did you want me to come with you?”

“I don’t know all he said was he needs me, oh my god…what if something bad has happened?”

“You don’t know what’s wrong if you don’t go and find out, I’ll stay here but you better let me know what’s going on”

I pick up my phone and grab my things and I rush out the door, calling Niall as I head towards the car. He doesn’t pick up which isn’t all that surprising so I hang up and get in the car starting the engine and driving off, it only takes me 10 minutes to get there. I turn off the car and rush up to the door, I knock and stand back, I wait but he doesn’t answer the door so I grab the key he gave me and I open the door with shaky hands, the living room is quiet when I walk in. I yell for Niall but he doesn’t answer so I walk through the house but there is no sign of him so I go straight up the stairs hoping he’s there. I walk into the bedroom to see him curled up and under the covers.

I silently walk into the room and I notice the TV is on and I then notice the mess in the bathroom, my heart stops when the worst case scenario comes into my mind. I look back to Niall and my heart breaks, even when he’s asleep he looks rough, like he hasn’t slept in days. I decide to leave him alone so I go back downstairs and I grab something to clean up the mess in the bathroom. I don’t even know where to start when I get into the bathroom, I just hope he didn’t step in any of the glass but I don’t see any blood on the floor so he must’ve stepped around it. I close the door as I start to tidy up hoping Niall doesn’t wake up, I think about what must’ve caused him to break the mirror and what did he use? Hopefully he didn’t punch the mirror and hurt his hand, I throw the broken pieces of glass into the bin and I tie the bag up ready to take it downstairs. I come out the bathroom to see Niall opening his eyes and yawning, he looks horrible but cute at the same time, he rubs his eyes and gives me a small smile,

“Louis?”

“Yeah, you messaged me…you okay?”

“Uh yeah” I raise my eyebrow and his face falls, “Uh no, not really…I-I” tears fall from his eyes and my heart breaks, I hate seeing him cry,

“Hey, it’s okay, let it all out” I lay down on the bed and Niall cuddles into my side and as he sobs I start stroking his hair as I know this helps him calm down, “What happened?”

“Nothing…”

“Niall something happened, you don’t have to lie to me I’m not going to judge you if your upset, you have every right to be”

“I did what you told me not to do…”

“Did you check Facebook again?” Niall nods, “Oh come here” I pull him in for a tight hug as I grab his iPad which is on the pillow next to him still open, I look at the screen and I’m angry at what I see, now I understand why Niall broke the mirror in a fit of rage. Do those two ever think about what they post on Facebook? I wipe the tears from his eyes with my thumb as he lets out another sob, I look at his face and I can see the bags under his eyes from little sleep, I hate seeing Niall the way he is, he’s usually smiling.

He looks up at me and I find myself wanting to cry with him but I stay strong. The picture is still on the screen so I turn it off and place the iPad on the side, I continue to stroke his hair as he calms down,

“Thanks”

“It’s alright, you okay now?”

“Yeah…”

I lean down to kiss his forehead as the sounds on the TV are louder than before, the opening title comes onto the screen as I turn to grab the remote to turn it off,

“not being rude but have you showered at all today?”

“Not yet, I probably should, might as well do it now”

“You go and I’ll meet you downstairs? I cleaned up most of the glass but just be careful yeah?”

Niall nods as I head down the stairs, I didn’t notice it before when I rushed up the stairs but the wall is mostly blank, wonder when Niall had time to take them down? I look at the remaining photos and smile at the memories, back when we were all together and nobody was heartbroken or picking up the pieces of said broken heart.

I give Zayn a ring, hopefully he picks up. The phone rings through and he answers breathless,

“Hey, you okay?”

_“Yeah, had to run from the other side of the shop to the front. What about you, you okay?”_

“Eh…”

_“And Niall? He okay?”_

“Not really, got here earlier and he was curled up in bed. He was sleeping but when I looked at him you could tell he hadn’t been sleeping well…”

_“Shit”_

“Yeah…”

_“What else? I can tell you’re not telling me something…”_

“he smashed the mirror in his bathroom, don’t know what he used but it smashed the mirror into pieces, big and small. Luckily he stepped over the glass and didn’t get anything in his foot”

_“Shit! He’s okay now though, right?”_

“He says he is but I’m not too sure. he told me he went onto Facebook and well…”

_“Well what?”_

“He was looking at Liam’s page again, and you’ve probably seen it right?”

_“Yeah, I have, it sucks. It’s like they don’t even care about anything, I mean how could they do this?”_

“I don’t know but I’m certainly not their biggest fan at the moment, I’ll see you later, yeah? Niall’s just come downstairs”

_“Yeah, keep me updated if anything happens. Speak to you tonight”_

“Bye” I put the phone down and smile at Niall as he walks through to the kitchen. He looks a little bit better than before but you can tell he’s been crying and he hasn’t really slept, he’s a little bit paler than before too. He looks younger as well, he always has when he’s tired though.

“Who was that?”

“Zayn, he just wanted to know what was going on and how you were”

“What did you tell him?”

“I told him you were doing okay, a bit emotional but that’s it. Didn’t want to say too much, don’t want him worrying even more than he is”

“Okay, thanks again for before”

I nod and smile as he sits down in front of me,

“You want to talk about it? You don’t have to?”

“Nah it’s fine…I mean you probably know why anyway, I mean you obviously saw the post and everything. You know I never do things like that, not even when I’m angry but seeing the picture and then reading the caption, something switched in me and I lost my mind, and I threw whatever I could find at the mirror. I knew it would smash but I didn’t care I needed to break something, lucky I didn’t punch it or I would be screwed right now”

I grab Niall’s hands and look at him in the eye, he put his head down and sighs before looking back at me. I squeeze his hand, “I can understand why, I would do the same if I saw my best friend and ex fiancé looking loved up on Facebook. You don’t have to be embarrassed about it and your right, you are lucky you didn’t punch the mirror. I wouldn’t want to be picking glass out of your hand and you wouldn’t want to either”

I pull him in for a hug, he sinks into my embrace and tucks his head in my neck. A blush starts to creep up on my face and I just hope Niall doesn’t see it.


	9. Niall POV

I’m glad that I can rely on Louis to make me feel better, he’s always been good at it. I know I can trust him to say and do the right things, especially in times like these when I need him the most. I can’t forget about Zayn either, he may not have been here today but I know he wanted to know how I was and what was happening and I’m thankful. I should probably message him to let him know how I’m going myself,

_‘Just wanted to let you know I’m doing okay. Speak to you tomorrow?’_

I watch as Louis makes us a cup of tea, it’s weird to see him make one seeing as he usually gets Zayn or I to make him one. I know the last time he was here he made me one but I forgot how weird it is to watch him, I laugh to myself which causes Louis to turn around and playfully glare at me,

“What’s funny? Is there something on my face?”

“No, it’s weird…”

“What?”

“Watching you in the kitchen, it’s weird”

“It’s nice to know I’m entertaining you, at least I know what can cheer you up if cuddling me doesn’t work”

“Just make the tea and be quiet”

Louis turns to the cups and I smile again. It’s nice to find something to take my mind off earlier, I’m still a little bit embarrassed that Louis had to clean up my mess but I happy he did otherwise I probably would have stood on something when I got up. I yawn loudly and my eyes are starting to hurt, I only woke up an hour ago but I’m so tired.

“Hey, am I keeping you up?”

“No, just yawning. Haven’t been able to sleep much these last few days, bed’s not been the best for me”

I see Louis raise an eyebrow at me, I hate when he does that, “What?”

“Are you sure it’s the bed? Or is it something else? You can tell me you know”

“I know. It’s not the bed, it’s me. Every time I close my eyes I can’t stop picturing Liam and Harry together and how happy they must be and how happy Liam must be now that I’m not with him. it hurts me to picture it and I just cry when I do. The first night I was alone in the house by myself I tried to sleep but I just couldn’t, I woke up in the middle of the night all hot and sweaty. It was horrible and I didn’t want to have the same thing again, so I sort of stopped sleeping for a bit.”

“Oh Ni, you could have asked me to stay with you, I would have come round right away, Zayn too. We wouldn’t care if it’s 3 in the afternoon or 3 in the morning we’d be here, I mean I would at 3 in the morning Zayn wouldn’t but you get the idea”

I laugh at that and I can see Louis face soften, it’s probably because I’m smiling for the first time in a while, “I know you would and I appreciate that but I don’t want to bother you with my problems, you probably have some of your own to deal with…”

“Doesn’t matter, we’d drop everything if you need us too, you know that”

“I know and thanks”

“No worries…hey, are you going to be okay tonight? I can stay if you want to it’s not a big deal, Zayn probably won’t care either way”

“Uh, I should be but you can stay if you like…” Louis gets his phone out and starts messaging someone, his phone vibrates a couple of minutes later,

“Was just texting Zayn, I asked him if it was okay if you stayed with us and he said you’re more than welcome to stay with us, actually he would love it if you stayed with us, said he wants to see you”

“I don’t know…”

“Please say yes…” Louis makes a face and he knows it will work, he knows I can’t resist it,

“Fine, if I say yes will you stop looking at me like that?”

“Yes! Alright grab your stuff” He ruffles my hair as I stand up. I doubt I’ll get any sleep tonight but I guess staying with Louis and Zayn isn’t the worst thing.

The moment I step through the door with Louis, Zayn rushes up to me and throws his arms around my waist and tightly hugs me, I bury my face in his neck and when Zayn pulls away I can see tears in his eyes,

“Hey, why are you crying?”

“You were having a rough couple of days and I should have known that when you didn’t message me back that something was wrong. I should have been there for you…”

“Hey, it’s fine. I’m okay and I’m sorry if I scared you” He hugs me tighter and it feels nice. When he pulls away again I wipe the tear from his face. he wraps his arm round my shoulder and leads me into the kitchen with Louis following behind us shaking his head.

I feel happier being with these two, I can’t believe I shut them out the last few days. Hopefully spending time with these two can take my mind off things and I hope I can get something to sleep tonight.


	10. Louis POV

Niall saying yes to the offer of staying with us was good because I don’t think I could have slept knowing that he was at home by himself and stopping himself from sleeping. The exchange between Zayn and Niall is nice, I knew Zayn missed Niall but I didn’t know he felt that way.

I shake my head as Zayn takes Niall into the kitchen, I feel as if I should let Zayn have some time with Niall,

“I’ll be back, Niall you okay with my room for the night?”

“Hey, I’ll take the sofa tonight, it’s fine”

Zayn speaks up and smirks behind Niall, “I think what Louis trying to say is you can share with him tonight if you want to…” God damn him, why did he suggest that?

“Uh yeah, if that’s okay with you?”

I didn’t realise he would say yes, this is going to be awkward tonight, I smile and make sure Niall is fine with that, “Sure, I’ll sort my room out. Be back soon…”

I have no idea how he’ll sleep tonight but hopefully he does.

\----

The two of us are laying down and staring at the ceiling in silence, it feels weird having Niall sleep next to me and I wonder if he’s feeling the same way. I look over to see him watching me, he looks a little bit sad so I make a weird face in the hope that he smiles or laughs. He smiles and I find myself smiling too, we both turn to face each other,

“You okay?”

“Yeah, thanks for letting me stay with you tonight, I could have taken the sofa”

“I know you’ve been having trouble sleeping so I don’t think it would be fair to let you sleep on the sofa and I can tell you from experience it’s not the comfiest sofa to sleep on. I’ve saved you from severe back pain, you can thank me in the morning”

“Will do…” he yawns and I can see he’s struggling to fall asleep, if I’m being honest it’s kind of cute to see,

“You can go to sleep, I don’t mind”

“I might actually, I’ll talk to you in the morning yeah?”

“Yeah, if you need me don’t hesitate to wake me up. I know it may seem like I’m treating you like a child but I’m worried about you”

“Hey it’s fine, night Lou”

He turns around and I turn off the light and try to get some sleep myself, slowly drifting off within 10 minutes.


	11. Niall POV

I wake up the next morning feeling better than I have done the last couple of days, I feel refreshed and I didn’t even wake up in the middle of the night in a sweat. I feel comfortable and I don’t feel like I’ve been hit by a bus, I stretch and as I do I hit something but I don’t know what it is. I can feel a warm body wrapped around me, for a second I think that it could be Liam but then I remember that he’s never coming back. I look behind me and Louis is still sleeping, he looks peaceful and I don’t want to disturb his slumber so I stay cuddled up to his chest and stay under the quilt cover.

I feel Louis move from behind me and he makes a little sound that is sort of adorable. I turn around to see his eyes slowly open, he throws me a sleepy smile,

“Morning Ni” His voice is raspy and it sounds really deep, I try to turn around but he keeps me where I am,

“Stay, you’re keeping me warm and I don’t feel like getting up yet and I know you don’t want to either…how did you sleep?”

“Good, could probably go back to sleep now”

“Shouldn’t you be getting to work? Thought you were only taking a few days off?”

“Yeah, but I would prefer to stay here and sleep, as you said last night I need it and I agree. Now shush and let me cuddle you, you did it to me last night, now it’s my turn”

He turns onto his side and I wrap my arms around his waist, he’s not as big as Liam but it doesn’t matter as I drift back to sleep.

\----

The sound of Zayn coming in the door wakes me up, I sit up fast that my head starts to spin and I feel sick as I fall of the side of the bed, didn’t realise I was sleeping right on the end. I look up at the bed and Louis who is still fast asleep, I can’t believe he slept through the door hitting the wall, I look back to Zayn who’s laughing at me, he must’ve watched me freak out and fall on the floor,

“Oi not funny Zayn! That really hurts, I fell on my ass…how would you like it if I came in, slam the door and laugh as you fall on your ass?”

“I’m sorry but it was quite funny”

I can see Louis moving around on the bed and then sitting up, he rubs his eyes and looks down at me before looking at Zayn “What happened? Why are you on the floor?” he looks at Zayn “And why are you laughing? Did I do something?”

“The reason I’m on the floor is because Zayn sort of scared me…hence why Zayn’s laughing”

“Sort of? Then tell me why you fell to the floor?”

“Shut up! What a friend you are!”

“I’m sorry mate, but you have to agree it is funny”

I give Zayn a look before I start laughing with him, I can get why it’s funny even though my back hurts now, “Help me up? Please?” I give him my best puppy dog eyes and he shakes his head before grabbing my hand, I sit back on the edge of the bed with my legs crossed.

“Thank you…now we’ve all laughed at Niall’s expense, what do you want? I was in the middle of a nice dream” I look over and watch as Louis face scrunches up at being woken up and I can’t help but laugh, he looks innocent when he’s tired. Don’t know why but it makes me laugh,

“What are you laughing about?”

“Nothing, you look cute when your angry” He blushes at that comment and that makes me smile and my stomach flips which is weird. My stomach then growls and the other two look at each other before laughing,

“Come on, let’s get you something to eat. Sounds like you need it”

I smile as Louis pushes me gently that I almost fall off the bed again making Zayn laugh at me again. I jump off the bed and push him out the door, laughing as he trips over his feet.

\----

I get home later in the afternoon to find a bunch of packages sitting on the doorstep, at first, I thought maybe it was sent to the wrong person but just my luck they were addressed to the house. I’m not exactly sure what is in them but it’s no doubt something Liam ordered for the wedding, I slowly open one of the packages trying to take as long as I can so I don’t have to see what’s inside. As soon as I lift the box sitting inside are a bunch of invitations, just looking at them makes me sick and of course they would come exactly a week after my heart was broken by Liam. The first thing I want to do upon seeing them is to throw them out but instead I put the lid back on the box and drop the box on the floor before stepping over it.

I stand in the middle of the kitchen just looking around, I look back to the box on the floor and an idea pops into my head, I message the other two before placing my phone on the side,

_“Let’s get drunk!’_

I go upstairs and I head straight into the bathroom and I turn on the shower before stripping off and stepping in. as soon as I do the tears start to fall once again and I can’t help but think, _‘What have I done to deserve this?’_ I stand under the water and just stare at the wall until I can’t stand in the shower anymore.


	12. Louis POV

I was in the middle of a nice dream when I was rudely interrupted by someone laughing. When I woke up to see Niall on the floor with his hair sticking up in different directions and Zayn standing in the doorway clutching his stomach, I wasn’t as angry as I would be if it was someone different. Niall’s on the floor and he looks adorable when he’s pretending to be angry with Zayn.

The two of them are being too loud but when I heard that Niall fell on the floor I understood why they were, I watched as Niall chased Zayn out the room and when Zayn tripped over his own feet I found myself laughing along with Niall.

\----

I start to worry when Niall leaves the house, I hope he doesn’t go home and go back to sitting in bed all day and crying. I keep myself busy so I don’t have to keep thinking of him being sad, I walk back into my room and I stare at the bed, I think about this morning.

I loved how nice it felt to wake up with Niall, it might sound creepy but it’s true. I hated seeing him tired but when I saw him this morning he looked happier, refreshed and his smile didn’t look forced like the other few times. My phone buzzes in my back pocket,

_‘Let’s get drunk!’_

I sigh at the message but I understand why he wants to get drunk. I mean he did just get his heartbroken and I’m surprised it’s taken him this long to want to get drunk, if that was me I would have gotten drunk the day Liam left. I quickly reply and wait for this evening.

I get to the bar and I can already see Niall sitting in the booth talking to Zayn, he throws his head back as he laughs at something Zayn said and my stomach flips once again, it did it this morning. I head over and when Niall notices me he throws his hand in the air and I laugh as I throw my arms around his shoulder. He hands me a drink and I’m not surprised he’s already got one for me.

I’m guessing they’ve been here a little longer than I thought because I can tell Niall’s already had a few to drink, which isn’t unusual for him.

\----

By 2:00 am Niall’s completely smashed, I reckon he’s drunken at least half the bar which doesn’t surprise me at all. Right now, he’s sitting next to Zayn ranting about Liam and how much he hates him, Zayn’s listening and adding comments here and there. Niall doesn’t sound too angry but he does sound sad, it means he’s at that stage of the night where we need to start replacing his alcohol with water.

I head back to the booth with some water hoping Niall won’t be able to tell I’ve given him water, I get to the booth and I just catch the end of what he’s been talking about,

“What did I do to deserve this? Tell me?”

My heart breaks at that, I slide into the booth and pull Niall into my side and I place a kiss on his forehead. He looks up at me with tears in his eyes and I wipe the tear away as it falls down his cheek, “Hey, I heard what you said and you do realise it’s not your fault that Liam left, okay? It’s his own fault. Now let’s get you home, you’ve had a few too many to drink and I know you’ll regret it in the morning”

Zayn helps me get him out of the booth and through the crowd of people and once we get outside I help him steady himself before calling for a taxi. Once the taxi arrives and we get him into the back of it I’m tired and I’m ready for bed, as Niall leans against me I find myself closing my eyes. I don’t keep my eyes closed for long because he’s groaning next to me and I’m seriously worried he’s about to throw up.

We get to my place and as we get out the car Niall’s already hunched over and he’s throwing up on the street. I place my hand on his back and once he stops I lead him towards the house and once the doors open I’m taking him straight upstairs and placing him on the bed. Zayn comes upstairs a few minutes later with a glass of water and a couple of aspirin for the morning because he knows Niall will have a massive hangover later.

I grab the bin and place it next to the bed on the side Niall’s laying on, I turn to Zayn who’s standing in the doorway and sigh,

“You okay Lou?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, just tired…what were you talking about back in the bar?”

“He was asking me what he did to make Liam leave him and I told him the same as you but I doubt he was listening”

“Probably not…”

“Will you be fine with him tonight or did you want me to take him. I don’t mind either way…”

“I’ll be fine, you go to bed. I’ll see you later?”

Zayn nods his head as he closes the door, I turn around to see Niall fast asleep with his head turned to the side and he’s snoring. I turn off the light and climb under the covers next to him, closing my eyes and drifting off to sleep.

\----

I wake up in the afternoon to the sound of Niall throwing up the bin I placed next to him earlier this morning, I look over and I see him hanging off the edge of the bed. I sit up and reach my hand out and I place it on his shoulder and I give it a gentle squeeze,

“Let it all out mate”

The smell is absolutely disgusting and I find myself wanting to be sick along with Niall. I grab the glass of water and when Niall sit’s back up on the bed I hand it to him along with the aspirin, he throws the aspirin in his mouth and he then downs the water quickly before leaning back against the headboard.

“You okay?”

Niall groans before laying his head on my shoulder, I tap his leg before getting up. He falls onto his side and lays his head in the other pillow before groaning again. I chuckle before grabbing the bin from beside the bed and take it to the bathroom, I rinse the bin out before placing it next to the toilet. I wash my hands before going back into my room, Niall’s asleep again so I decide to leave him. I grab my jumper before closing the door and heading downstairs.

\----

Zayn’s already awake as I walk into the kitchen, well he’s up but he isn’t moving around he’s just got his face down on the table and a cup of coffee next to him.

“You okay?”

“Ugh, remind me to never try to keep up with Niall whenever we go out. I don’t know how he does it, I just don’t”

I laugh as Zayn groans again, I can hear footsteps and I see Niall come round the corner looking like an extra out of The Walking Dead. I start laughing at him so he decides to flip me off and head into the living room. I hear a bang in the other room so I rush in there and what do I see? I see Niall laying on the floor next to the coffee table, I have no idea what happened nor do I want to know so I quickly take a photo before showing it to Zayn who is laying on the floor in the kitchen.

What is it with these two today? It doesn’t look like anything’s going to get done today…


	13. Niall POV

It’s been a couple of weeks since I woke up with one of the worst hangovers I’ve ever experienced and I’ve experienced a few back in uni. I don’t really remember much of that night apart from confiding in Zayn about Liam, I might have mentioned how much I hate him but I’m not too sure my minds all blurry.

It didn’t help that I had to go back to work the day after and let me tell you, it is the worst thing having to go to work hungover but I had to go back to work where most people knew about my situation. They would not stop asking me how I was and if everything was okay, I felt like crying not because they wouldn’t stop mentioning Liam’s name but because they would not leave me alone. To make matters worse a couple of things that we ordered for the wedding showed up the day I was hungover, I just left all of it in the garden, I didn’t want to be dealing with it at all.

On the plus side I’ve started to get over what happened, I know he’s never going to come back and he’s moved on so why shouldn’t I? I do know it will take a while to get completely over him but it’s a start. Zayn and Louis have helped me and I couldn’t be more thankful for them both, I don’t know what I would have done without them.

\----

I’ve just gotten home from spending the afternoon with Louis and Zayn and I go to the mailbox as I always do, inside the mailbox was an envelope with my name and address written on it neatly. I take the mail inside and I open the envelope first, but as soon as I open it my heart stops, my stomach drops and my hand shake. Inside the envelope is an invitation but not just any invitation, it’s a wedding invitation. I drop the invitation onto the side and I find myself holding onto the nearest surface to keep myself from acting out like I did the last few times I saw something from Liam, like all the things for the wedding that was supposed to be happening in another month.

My sight goes all blurry from the tears and I find myself wanting to do nothing more than throw things and yell, my knuckles are turning white due to holding onto the side too tight. I look back down at the invitation and I grab it before bending it in half and throwing it into the bin so it doesn’t keep sitting there for me to see.

Who the fuck does Liam think he is sending that to me? I cannot believe him, he is probably one of the pettiest people I’ve ever come across in my life! He makes me so angry and I’m so glad he left me even though I don’t mean it, I’m just upset with him.

I grab the invitation out of the bin and I quickly send a picture of it to Louis and Zayn,

_‘Look what came in the mail today!’_

They both message back within 20 minutes,

_‘Those bastards!’_

_‘Who do they think they are?’_

I exit the messages and scroll down my list of messages from other people and I open messages from someone I haven’t spoken to since they left,

_‘Who the fuck do you think you are? haven’t you caused me enough pain? I cannot for the life of me figure out what possessed you to send that to anyone let alone your fucking ex-fiancé! Why would you do that to me? you are one petty bastard and I cannot believe I even loved you! you can tell Harry that his friendship means nothing to me anymore and I hope sooner or later he realises what an asshole you really are! have a nice life!’_

I throw my phone on the floor and luckily it doesn’t break, I can’t be bothered to deal with it right now. I head upstairs and do what I’ve done for the last few months whenever Liam does stupid shit like this. I try to find something of his but there is nothing seeing as I threw most of it away but something catches my eye at the top of the wardrobe, I reach up to get it and inside are things that Liam must’ve forgotten to take with him.

I look through the box and I find a bunch of photos that were taken years ago when we first met even some of the boys as well, I find a lot of things that aren’t really important and that’s when something catches my eye, I take everything out of the box apart from this one thing. I look at it and it’s a phone, I have no idea what’s on it but I’m about to find out.

I open the phone, luckily there’s no passcode otherwise I would have had to do something else, everything looks normal but when I get to the messages that’s when my heart beats fast and my hands start to shake again.

I have no idea what possesses me but all I know is nobody would want to stand in my way.

 


	14. Louis POV

I’m sitting at home watching Netflix when my phone starts ringing in the kitchen, I stand up to get it and Zayn’s name flashes on the screen, I answer it and in the background I can hear loud banging, he must be at the shops and he’s probably asking me if I want anything.

“Hey Z, what’s up?”

“Uh Lou, how fast can you get to Niall’s?”

“Can be there within 10 minutes, why?”

“I can’t explain but it’s pretty bad, can you get here soon?”

“I’m about to leave, be there as quick as I can”

“Okay”

Zayn hangs up and I grab my keys and rush out to the car, I hope everything’s okay he seemed out of breath on the phone.

I pull up to Niall’s within 10 minutes as I said to Zayn, I turn off the car and rush through the front door, I can hear a loud bang and someone yelling from upstairs. I get up those stairs as quick as I can and what I see scares me, the whole entire bedroom is trashed. There’s things everywhere, it looks like a bomb has hit it and Niall’s standing in the middle of the room and Zayn’s doing his best to keep Niall still but it looks like he’s struggling a bit. I step forward and wave my hands in front of his face so he doesn’t hit me if he lashes out again,

“H-hey Niall look at me, what’s wrong? What happened?”

He’s still trying to get out of Zayn’s grip when he looks up at me and he starts to slowly stop wriggling,

“Li-Liam h-he”

“What did he do?” Niall sobs as he relaxes in Zayn’s arms and they both slowly fall to the floor, I drop down onto my knees and move towards the front of Niall and I wrap my arms around his shoulders and place a kiss on his forehead. Zayn looks just as confused as I do but I’ll ask him what he knows when Niall’s calmed down, I examine the room to see what the extent of the damage is, it’s not looking good. The bedside tables are on the floor, the wardrobe is a mess, there’s a hole in the wall and I can see the TV screen is cracked. He trashed the room quite well and the bathroom’s looking quite bad too, I didn’t realise he had it in him to be honest. I look Niall in the eyes,

“You okay now?” he nods his head and I wipe whatever tears are rolling down his cheeks, Zayn let’s go of Niall’s waist and the three of us stay in a huddle on the floor.

“You ready to talk about it?”

“Not really…”

“That’s fine, Louis and I can wait downstairs for you if you want?” Zayn speaks up from behind Niall before standing up and holding out his hand for me to grab. He leans back down to kiss Niall on the forehead and I do the same once I stand up, the two of us head downstairs and I can hear Niall sigh from behind me. I turn around and he’s staring at the ceiling and it looks like he’s trying not to cry.

\----

Zayn pulls me in for a hug once we get downstairs and once we sit down on the sofa, he sighs loudly and when I look at him it looks like he’s trying so hard not to cry,

“What happened?”

“I have no idea, I got here earlier to see if he was okay and as soon as I stepped through the door the first thing I heard was a massive bang so the first thing I did was rush up the stairs to see what it was. As I stood in the doorway examining the mess he punched the wall which completely shocked me, I know I shouldn’t have done this but I walked towards him and just as I was about to grab his waist he kicked the wall and he was just about to punch the wall again but he ended up punching me, luckily it didn’t hurt but before he could do it again I pulled him close to me which is when you came up the stairs.”

“Shit, he really punched the wall?” Zayn nods his head as he runs his hand through his hair with shaky hands, “What do you think possessed him?”

“Don’t know but I’ve never seen him like this…I thought he was getting over Liam, I guess the invitation must’ve set him off”

 “I honestly wouldn’t expect it to be anything different”

I lean my head on Zayn’s shoulder, the two of us sitting in complete silence. The clock on the wall in the kitchen is ticking loudly and it’s much easier to hear in a silent house. Footsteps sound from behind us and Niall steps through holding onto his hand which must be in a lot of pain, he doesn’t look as angry now. I lift my head off Zayn’s shoulder and nod my head indicating for him to come here, he stands in front of me and I pull him down and letting him lie across my lap.

“You okay? How’s your hand?”

“Painful but I guess that’s what happens when you punch a wall pretty hard, my foots not any better”

“Give me a minute, I’ll go get some ice”

“I’ll do it, you stay there” I pat Zayn on the back as he gets up to get some ice for Niall’s hand. I grab his hand gently before examining it, it’s red and it’s looking a little bit swollen but once he gets ice on it he should be fine. Zayn comes back with the ice and sits down on the end of the sofa and lifts Niall’s legs so there draped across his lap.

Zayn hands me some ice for Niall’s hand and I place it on his hand, he groans and jumps a little at the coldness but keeps his hand still, “That better?”

“Little bit…I guess you want to know what happened huh?”

“You don’t have to tell us you know…”

“Nah its fine, I heard you when I was upstairs and no, my meltdown wasn’t because of the invitation. It was all because I found a phone…”

“A phone? Who’s phone?””

“Exactly what I thought when I saw it and it was obviously wasn’t my phone, it was Liam’s. I decided to have a snoop through it and let’s just say I could have killed him with what I found on it”

“What did you find?”

“A lot of things someone’s fiancé shouldn’t see or know about. Liam was practically cheating on me with Harry since the day he proposed to me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Turns out that asshole had a second phone and he was using it to communicate with Harry and not in the way you would usually communicate with other people. There were photos and videos I wish I never come across, the messages were full of things I would rather not repeat and some things I don’t want to talk about”

“What the actual fuck? Do you have the phone or is it broken?”

“It’s upstairs in the bedroom somewhere under all that mess” Zayn heads up the stairs to track down the phone, “It turns out it wasn’t just Harry he was hooking up with behind my back, there were two other men lined up. I didn’t realise he would do something disgusting like that to me but you know”

Zayn drops the phone in my lap and I pick it up to have a look through and Niall was right, Liam was an asshole. I want to say I knew he would do something like this but I really could never have expected it. I mean obviously something was happening between Liam and Harry because why would they run away together but I didn’t expect it to go back to little over a year ago. I pass the phone back to Niall who just throws it onto the coffee table with a loud bang.

He looks a little bit angry so I squeeze his leg and as he looks up at me I can tell he doesn’t exactly want to talk about it anymore so I suggest something that he might agree with,

“Alright, enough about Liam and his scumbag ways…who wants a drink? I know I do…” Niall starts to perk up a little bit at the offer of alcohol. He gets up and goes straight to the cabinet before pulling out a bottle of Jack Daniels, he passes me the bottle before going into the kitchen to grab some glasses,

“Don’t usually drink this stuff but I need something that’s going to get me a little bit buzzed, who’s with me?”

We all agree as I start to pour the drink into the glasses, looks like it’s going to be a good night.

\----

To say the three of us are buzzed would be an understatement, we’re a little bit drunk, turns out that we needed more than a bottle of Jack Daniels to get us buzzed. We’re on our fourth bottle of the stuff and we’re showing no signs of stopping anytime soon, we’re all sitting around in the living room talking about whatever trying to distract Niall from his Liam situation.

The TV’s playing music as we’re drinking and sorting through the photos that Niall found in the box earlier, he brought them down after we finished the second bottle and we’ve been looking at all of them and laughing at the memories. I grab one of the photos and it’s of Niall and I the first year we met at the Halloween party a friend was throwing, I remember that night fondly. That’s the night when I realised I was falling for my best friend and roommate after seeing him in that costume, we looked like we were having a great time. I also remember that being the night Liam and Niall met.

I put the photo back and I notice Niall picking it back up and having a look at it, I watch as he smiles widely. My heart starts beating fast as I pick another photo up and I can remember the memory behind it too, it’s a memory I don’t really like to think about so I quickly put it down on the coffee table. I pick up the next one when I hear a sob come from Niall on the other side of the coffee table, Zayn and I look at each other before looking at Niall with concern,

“Ni are you okay?” He doesn’t answer so Zayn decides to try,

“Niall, what’s wrong? What happened?”

Niall’s body starts to shake and he brings his knees up to his chest, Zayn’s the first one over to him and he’s pulling Niall in close. Niall sobs loudly and my heart breaks for him, I’m confused at first as to why he’s crying but then I see a photo which is also the photo that has a memory I didn’t want to remember. I crawl over to him and he lays his head on my chest as he sobs again.

He calms down a couple of minutes later and when he stands up to head outside Zayn and I sit in the middle of the living room, matching looks of concern on our faces.


	15. Niall POV

I take one of Zayn’s cigarettes and I head out the front of the house to get some air and to clear my head. I’m not going to light it, I just need to play with something to help me focus on something other than my broken heart. I sit down on the step and let out a huge sigh as I shiver from the cold, I probably should have brought a jacket. I didn’t realise he kept that photo of the two of us and seeing it again brought back too many memories, ones that I thought I had forgotten about.

I feel a little bit embarrassed, I told Louis and Zayn I was over Liam and for me to cry again because of a photo is ridiculous. Surprisingly they didn’t judge me for it, I mean they obviously wouldn’t but it was still embarrassing. I now realise that maybe I’m not completely over him and now I’m thinking about it everything I look at in this house reminds me of him and what we used to have together. I tried not to think about it too much over the last couple of weeks but it’s no use anymore. I’ve got to get out of this place…

The front door opens and Zayn steps out and places his hand on my shoulder before sitting down next to me, he pulls out his cigarettes and lights one up just as Louis steps out and sits down on the other side of me, handing me a jumper as he does. He places his hand on my knee and leans into me bumping my shoulder,

“Smile, I don’t like seeing you sad”

“I know, I’m sorry for what happened in there…I’m so embarrassed”

“Don’t be, it’s not liked we’d laugh at you”

“I know but still it’s embarrassing to cry in front of your friends about a guy that you said you have no feelings for and you’re getting over”

“Hey, I cry in front of Zayn about a guy I say I have no feelings for anymore but that’s not the point, it’s not about me”

I had no idea Louis had feelings for anyone, he hasn’t ever said anything to me before but I have been dealing with my own shit so maybe that’s why, “I’m sorry Lou, why didn’t you say anything?”

“Hey, it doesn’t matter, it’s my own fault really. Look the point is you don’t ever need to feel embarrassed in front of us about this, maybe about other things but not this” He throws me a wink and I go red in the face at what he said, I know what he’s talking about but I shake it off. I nudge his leg and lean in towards Zayn’s side who happily lets me.

The three of us shiver as a huge gust of wind blows, “Let’s go inside, I’m freezing and I don’t feel like catching a cold”

\----

I’m starting to sober up as I lay between Louis legs with my body stretched across the sofa and my feet placed on Zayn’s crossed legs, he’s icing my foot for me again while Louis playing with my hair, it might look a little bit girly but it’s helping me relax. I look at the wall above the TV and my eyes are fixated on one picture, it’s a photo of Liam and I when I went to see my family just a little bit over a year ago. I can tell that I’m happy in that photo and it makes me wonder if I should go back home for a bit, maybe have some time off and away from everything.

I grab my phone and look for flights back home, there’s a few available flights for next week. I exit out of the Safari app and log onto my bank account, the one that I didn’t share with Liam hoping I have enough money seeing as I don’t use it very much. I have a couple of hundred just enough for a flight and back, I’ll send a message to mum tomorrow to let her know. “I’ve been thinking…”

Zayn looks right at me and cocks an eyebrow, “Bout what?”

“Thinking bout going home next week for a bit, need to get away and clear my head properly. Might do me some good plus I haven’t seen my family in person for little over a year”

“That sounds like a good idea, you’ve been dealing with too much stuff these last few weeks”

“Thanks mate…Lou? What do you think?”

Louis sighs and I know what that means, he thinks it’s a stupid idea

“Are you sure? I mean, it would do you some good but what about your family? Have you told them?”

Shit, he’s right. It never occurred to me to tell them “Fuck, I always thought Liam’s family would have said something”

“Liam’s mum is a sweet lady but maybe she doesn’t know about their son leaving his beloved fiancé in the middle of the night and then running off with the boy she doesn’t really like”

Louis right but what the hell does he mean about her not liking Harry? “She doesn’t like Harry? Why?”

“She just didn’t trust him, never said why exactly”

“Whoa, didn’t even know about that”

That makes me feel a little bit weird but I shake it off as Zayn changes the subject.

\----

I wake up the next morning and remember what I was thinking about, I get back online and look at flights for next week. As I’m scrolling down the site I start to wonder whether or not I’m doing the right thing by going home for a while, I take my phone out of my jumper pocket and call Zayn hoping he can give me some advice,

“Hey Z, you alright?”

_“Hey mate, I’m good, what about you? how’s your foot and hand?”_

“Not too bad, hands feeling a little bit better but foot still hurts. Are you busy at the moment? Could I ask you something?”

_“Yeah I’m free what’s up?”_

“Do you think going back home for a bit is a good idea?”

_“Yeah, don’t you?”_

“I guess but I’m worried about telling my mum, don’t know what she’d say?”

_“I highly doubt she’ll say anything bad, she loves you”_

“Yeah your right”

_“And if you’re worried Louis and I could come and support you…that’s if you want?”_

“Yeah, that would be good. Would you really do that, just drop everything to come to Ireland with me?”

_“Of course we would, we love you and we don’t want you to have to go through telling your mum by yourself”_

“Thanks mate, I would appreciate that. I’ll sort out the flights and send you the details?”

_“Sounds good, speak to you later?”_

“Yeah…and thanks”

_“No worries mate, see you later”_

“Bye”

I hang up and book the flight for next week, I send the details to Zayn a couple of minutes later

_‘Flights booked for next Tuesday, thanks again for this’_

I send a message to my mum as well letting her know I’ll be coming home next week, I know she’d be excited to see me,

_‘Coming home next week, see you then. I love you xx’_

I’m not overly keen to tell my family but they need to know, at least I’ll have some support for when I do.

\----

To say I’ve been dreading this trip would be an understatement, I’m freaking out. I have no idea what my mum’s reaction would be but I guess I’ll find out when I tell her. I couldn’t calm myself down while on the plane so Louis and Zayn ended up getting me a drink to help but it didn’t work, it made it worse I think. We’re in the taxi on the way to my mum’s house and I’m sitting between the other two while they’ve got a hold of my hands and their both gently squeezing them, it’s silent between the three of us which isn’t really helping my nerves.

We get to my house and that’s when I tense up, Louis and Zayn are making sure I’m okay straight away. I get out the taxi and I find myself needing to lean against the side, I stare straight ahead of me as the bags are being unloaded from the back. Zayn throws his arm around my shoulder and places a kiss on my forehead,

“You okay?”

“Yeah, fine”

I lean in to his side and I turn to watch Louis, I should probably be helping him. the sound of a door opening comes from behind,

“Niall? Is that you?” I turn around and I see my mum standing in the doorway, my heart stops for a second as I turn to look at my mum, she looks happy to see me and even though I’ve been freaking out about telling her this whole time I’m happy to see her too. I start to walk forward before I find myself sort of running towards her,

“Mum! I’ve missed you” I wrap my arms around her and hold onto her, it’s been so long and even though we’ve spoken on Skype a few times over the last year I’ve still missed her.

“It’s so good to see you love. How was the trip? You okay?”

“I’m fine mum, the trip was okay but luckily I had some company with me” I nod my head towards Louis and Zayn who’ve been standing behind us awkwardly, they shyly wave to her,

“Well look at you two, been ages since I’ve seen you. You both look good, how are you?”

She opens her arms for a hug and they gladly walk into them, she pats them on the back before turning to me, “Come inside, I’ll get you boys set up”

As I walk into the house I can feel myself calming down, I’m still nervous but right now I’m home and that’s all that matters.

Once we’ve settled in we head downstairs and sit around the kitchen table talking to mum,

“So boys…what brings you to Ireland?”

“Just needed a break actually, works been stressful”

“I bet the wedding planning has been taking up most of your time?” I knew she would bring that up but I didn’t realise it would be this soon, Louis grabs my hand from underneath the table and he looks at me to let me know it’s okay but when I open my mouth to tell her nothing comes out, I know I should say something but I can’t so I say the first thing that comes to my mind,

“Planning is good, Liam sends his love but unfortunately works been demanding for him so he decided to stay back to get most of it done before he takes a couple of weeks off to help with the rest of the wedding details”

“Oh, that’s a shame, tell him not to work too hard, I know what he’s like”

I feel Louis let go of my hand and I feel like shit, I should have said something but I just couldn’t, right now isn’t the time. I find myself feeling hot so I excuse myself to go to the bathroom, as soon as I step foot into the bathroom I grab onto the sink and I take a couple of deep breaths before looking at myself in the mirror, I look and I can see Louis standing behind me with his arms crossed,

“Stop looking at me like that”

“Like what?”

“Like your judging me. I couldn’t do it okay, it’s going to be hard to tell her”

“I know, I’m here for you when you do”

I couldn’t be more thankful for Louis being here, Zayn too.


	16. Niall POV

The next few days in Ireland have been quite relaxing, I think it’s exactly what I needed to clear my head.  I know Louis was a little bit surprised when I didn’t tell mum about my situation but at the same time he knew I wouldn’t do it straight away. We’re currently laying on the floor in my bedroom just staring at the ceiling,

“I’m going to tell her, I think it’s time. I’ve kept it hidden most of the trip and I don’t think it’s fair to keep her in the dark about it all…”

Louis turns his head to look at me, “Good for you, did you want us to be there with you when you do?”

“Yeah, I would like that, might make it easier. Come on, let’s do it now, I don’t want to wait any longer otherwise it would get harder for me to do it”

The three of us head downstairs and into the kitchen, I sit down at the table across from mum, Zayn to my right and Louis standing behind me,

“Mum? Can I talk to you?”

“Sure love, what’s going on?”

“I need to tell you something but I don’t know how you would react, so can you please wait till I’ve finished talking before you say anything?”

“Of course, when your ready…”

Here goes nothing…

“So, you know how I said Liam was at home working? Well, I lied…he’s not at home in fact he’s not even in London anymore. You see roughly two months ago I woke up to find the other side of the bed empty which was unusual seeing as it was a Sunday and Liam never woke up early, anyway I was confused as to where he was so I went downstairs to see if I could find him but I couldn’t. I was just about to call him to see where he was when something on the kitchen side caught my eye, I went over to see what it was and I saw it was his engagement ring and next to it was a note”

I show her the photo I took of the note before continuing,

“Long story short, the reason why Liam isn’t here is because he left me for someone else and didn’t even have the balls to tell me to my face, just left a note and ran out.”

She sits there for a couple of second before mumbling under her breath, I can’t quite hear her but I do catch a little bit of what she’s saying, “That fucking bastard, who does he think he is?”

I reach out and grab her hand, “Mum, you okay? Please don’t be mad at me? Say something, anything?”

She starts to cry and I start to think that maybe she hates me but she looks at me with tears in her eyes, “Oh sweetie, I’m so sorry. You should have told me as soon as it happened, I would have flown down and seen you to make sure you were okay.”

“Mum, it’s fine. Louis and Zayn have been helping me these last couple of months”

“May I ask who he ran away with? Who did he fall in love with?”

I’m not sure if I should tell her, I open my mouth to tell her but Louis beats me to it, “Harry”

Mum’s opens and closes he mouth in shock, “Harry, as in Harry Styles? Your best friend Harry?”

“Yeah, that’s the one…”

“Wow, okay…that is absolutely disgusting that the two of them would do that to you but at least your starting to move on, yeah?”

“Yeah, there has been a few ups and downs but yeah, I am” I didn’t lie to my mum about that at least.

“Thanks for telling me, as I said before you could have told me. I’m not mad at you but I’m furious with Liam, does his family know?”

“Probably not but I don’t want to talk about that, thanks for understanding…I love you”

“Love you too, now you go upstairs I’ve got some stuff to do but I’ll see you for dinner?”

“Of course”

I stand up and walk out the kitchen and I feel like I can finally breathe again. “Let’s go out tonight? I’ll take you to that pub we went to last time you were here, feel like I need to get drunk after that”

\----

I wake up the next morning feeling like shit, my head hurts and for some reason so does my bum, knowing me I fell on my ass on the way home last night. Speaking of last night, I have no idea what happened but all I can think of is something bad must’ve happened for me to wake up completely naked but that’s not unusual for me after a night of drinking. I sit up and stretch my arms, the covers sitting low on my hips, I look over to Louis who’s in the same position as me, he’s also naked and everything from last night comes back to me,

I slept with Louis! My best friend and I slept with him! Shit, what was I thinking? I need to wake him up, I need to know if he remembers everything like I do…

“Louis, wake up” I kick his leg with my foot hoping that wake him up. He mumbles something in his sleep before waking up slowly,

“What do you want? It’s too early”

“Louis, do you remember anything from last night? Anything at all?”

“It’s too early to ask me this but yes I do, I remember getting super drunk and that’s it really”

“So you don’t remember what happened between us?”

“Like what? Niall, what happened between us?”

“Uh, well I don’t know if you being naked gives it away but we…w-we slept together…”

He opens his eye before giving me a look, “Of course we did, we usually do after spending the whole night drinking”

“No like, we actually slept together if you know what I mean…”

Louis sits up quickly and it looks like he finally knows what I’m talking about, he looks under the covers before looking back up and I can see him tense up and his face starts getting pale. He looks well freaked out and I’m hoping it’s because he’s in shock and not because he slept with me,

“Fuck! Oh my god, are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure I mean if you didn’t that I don’t want to know what happened to make my ass hurt…”

“Okay I guess we did, we got drunk and slept together, it’s not a big deal”

“You’re right”

“Now if you’ve finished freaking out I’d like to go back to sleep, god knows I need it after last night…”

“Sure, I’ll leave you”

I get up and put on some boxers before quietly stepping out the room and closing the door, Louis right it isn’t a big deal. I walk into the kitchen and sit down at the table next to mum, she pats me on the shoulder and hands me a cup of coffee, I groan in thanks and she smacks me on the back of the head

“I don’t care if your hungover, saying thanks would be nice”

“Sorry mum, thank you”

“How was your night? Didn’t hear you come in…”

“Was good, wish I didn’t drink so much…feel like I’ve been hit by a bus”

Zayn walks in a couple of seconds later, “Morning”

“Hey mate, you alright?”

“Hungover but yeah, what about you?” He’s smirking at me, I know he knows what happened but I’m not going to say anything or react, especially not in front of my mum. I’ll do it when she’s not in the room. “I’m fine…where did you sleep last night?”

“On the sofa, didn’t want to disturb you, there wasn’t any space on the bed…” He winks and I smack him on the head, mum walks in and scolds me for it,

“Niall don’t hit Zayn! He didn’t do anything to you…”

“yeah well that’s what you think…” I glare at him as he smiles innocently at my mum, he looks to me and sticks his tongue out at me, “I’m too hungover for this shit”

“That’s your fault for drinking too much…where Louis?”

“If you must know, he’s asleep…big night for him” Zayn laughs “I bet…” I smack him on the head again, he returns the favour and we both end up hitting each other until mum walks into the room and stops us.

\----

Louis ends up joining us later in the afternoon, as soon as I come face to face with him the atmosphere between us changes, it feels awkward looking at him after what happened last night as the memories start to come back into my head. Zayn starts to notice the change and distracts us before it starts to get even weirder, you could practically cut the tension with a knife. We end up avoiding each other for the rest of the day, I don’t like it so I pull Louis aside before dinner to talk to him,

“You sure you’re okay? it kind of feels like you cant look me in the eye…”

“I’m fine, it’s just weird knowing you slept with your best friend. I’ve never been in a situation like this before”

“I know, me neither…but as you said before it’s not a big deal and it doesn’t change anything between us right?”

“It never could, you know that”

I pull him in for a hug and when I wrap my arms around his shoulders it doesn’t feel any different than usual. But little did I know what happened between us would change everything between us.


	17. Louis POV

It’s our last morning in Ireland before we have to go back to London and things between Niall and I have changed and I don’t think it’s for the better, no I know it’s not better and it sucks to be honest. Niall acts like it’s okay between us but I know he feels different than I do about this situation, I know he regrets it I can see it on his face.

Zayn knows we slept together and even he can tell somethings changed, he keeps giving me these looks and I always ignore them. I wonder how the flights going to go…

We say goodbye to Niall’s mum when she pulls me into a hug and hold on for a lot longer than Zayn, she quietly speaks to me,

“Thank you. I know you’ve been helping Niall get over Liam and I couldn’t be more thankful, he’s lucky to have you, Zayn too. I know you love him and can I give you some advice? Let Niall have some time to adjust to being single before you tell him okay?”

I had no idea she knew how I felt about her son but ever since we slept together I’ve probably been more obvious. I pull away and let Niall say goodbye, Zayn and I get into the taxi and wait, Zayn holds my hand and squeezes it,

“You alright? What did she say to you?”

“She said thank you for supporting Niall and I think she just gave me her approval? She said something about giving Niall some time before I tell him about my feelings for him”

“That’s good, right?”

“I guess…”

Niall gets into the taxi and I can tell he’s about to start crying as he lays his head on Zayn’s shoulder. the flight home looks like it’s going to be fun…

When we get back to London and we drop Niall off first, I offer to stay with him for a while but he says he’s okay. once Zayn and I get home I take myself upstairs to my room, I find myself feeling like crap so as soon as I fall onto my bed, the tears start to fall. I don’t even know why I’m crying, I feel like it might have something to do with Niall potentially hating me.

I wake up a couple of hours later to a quiet and empty house, I look at the time and it’s not even late. I just hope Niall’s okay…

\----

It’s been a few weeks since we’ve been back and Niall hasn’t even bothered to make any contact with me, he has with Zayn and I can’t help but feel jealous about it all. I understand that it would be awkward to be in the same room because we slept together but that doesn’t mean he still can’t talk to me.

Ever since we got back I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that night with Niall, I can remember some parts of it like how his lips felt on mine and how I felt when he moaned from underneath me. I need to stop thinking about all that, it’s making me wish I could make him feel like that all the time. I want to see him again but I don’t want him to feel awkward around me. I go downstairs and I sit in front of Zayn,

“Can I talk to you?”

“Sure, what’s up? Is it something to do with Niall?”

“Uh yeah, what do I do? He hasn’t spoken to me since we got back and I’m worried, did I fuck it up by sleeping with him that night?”

“You didn’t, he just needs some space. I mean you’re one of his best friends so waking up naked next to you probably scared him, plus he hasn’t been with anyone since Liam left…”

“You’re right but I’m still worried that I ruined our friendship over one stupid night and mistake!”

“Louis, you haven’t ruined anything and you and I both know that it wasn’t a stupid night or mistake. You don’t know, Niall could be just as worried as you and that’s why he hasn’t spoken to you in a few weeks, just give him some time…”

I love him and I know Zayn’s right, it wasn’t stupid. I guess I’ll just have to wait until he’s ready to see me again…

####

**NIALL POV**

I feel like I’m going crazy, I have never thought about Louis the way I have been the last few weeks. Ever since we slept together I haven’t stopped thinking of him and that night back in Ireland, that night was probably one of the best nights I’ve had and how I felt with Louis I never felt with Liam. I get butterflies in my stomach every time I think about it all, I need some advice so I ask Zayn to come over, he might know what to do,

‘Can you come over when your free?’

‘Sure, be there in 10’

\----

Once Zayn steps through the front door he’s straight to the point, “So, why did you want to talk to me?”

“How did you know I want to talk?”

“I can see by the look on your face that something is bothering you, what’s up?”

“It’s about Louis and I…ever since that night I haven’t stopped thinking about him and I’m seriously confused about it all...like every time I think about him my heart starts beating faster and I get butterflies. I realise earlier that I never felt like this about Liam after we slept together, do you think that’s weird, like all of it?”

“Can I ask you a serious question? You don’t have to answer, I just want to know…do you love Louis?” Do I love him?

“Of course, I do he’s my best friend, why do you ask?”

“Because what you’ve just said to me sounds like you love him, like really love him”

“Shit! Maybe I do love him?”

“Look, I’m not supposed to say anything but Louis loves you, he loves you so much and he’s sitting at home right now worried about whether or not you hate him because you haven’t spoken to him. please just tell me do you hate him or not?”

“I don’t hate him, I never could…I love him…Zayn, I love him! I’m in love with Louis, it’s all becoming clear to me now…what should I do?”

“Then tell him! Don’t keep him in the dark about this”

“Thanks mate”

As Zayn leaves I message Louis and ask him to come round later on tonight and that I have something to tell him, I’m going to tell him I love him.

\----

The doorbell rings and my hands start to shake, I’m so nervous. I open the door and my heart stops when I look at Louis, I take a step forward before kissing him fully on the mouth,

“What was that for?”

“Just because” I close the door and turn around to look Louis in the eyes,

“Look, I asked you here because I want to tell you something, something important…Louis first of all I’m sorry for ignoring you these last few weeks just know that I didn’t mean to but I was dealing with something. Second, I don’t hate you, I know you think that but I can assure you I don’t. I know when we slept together it was a bit of a shock for the both of us but can I just say that I don’t regret it one bit, in fact I loved it and I have never said that about Liam but you…you made me feel safe and even though we were drunk you never stopped making sure we were doing the right thing. What I’m trying to say is I love you and I can’t stop thinking about you and that night…”

I look him in the eyes and he’s looking at me in shock, “Say something?”

“Are you sure you love me? I mean Liam only left a few months ago, you sure I’m not just a rebound for you?”

“No and you never were that night either. I really love you!”

Louis steps forward and pushes me against the wall before kissing me slowly and sweetly, I melt into the kiss and I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel a shock run through my veins when he kissed me. Butterflies erupt in my stomach and my heart starts beating faster than usual as I pull him up the stairs and into my bedroom.

 


	18. Niall POV

It’s been 10 months since Liam left and I’m over Liam and I couldn’t be happier and it’s all thanks to Louis. Right now, we’re cuddled up on the couch watching reruns of Supernatural when the doorbell rings which is odd considering if it was Zayn he would have walked straight in. I get up but Louis pulls me back down, “Don’t go babe, whoever it is can go away”

“I have to love, it could be important…I’ll be back in a minute: I peck Louis on the lips and I get back up and I answer the door with a smile, my heart stops and my smile drops when I look directly into the eyes of someone I haven’t seen in person for the last 10 months,

“Hi Niall”

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“I came to see you…I wasn’t sure if you would be home and I wasn’t sure you would want to see me”

“Well your right, I don’t want to see you. So, if you could kindly fuck off…” I close the door but Liam stops me,

“Niall, listen to me please…I want to apologise to you for what I did. I never realised that what I was doing was stupid, I should have told you to your face. also, I was wrong about falling out of love with you, I never did and I probably never will”

“What do you expect me to say? I hate you for what you did to me and I wanted nothing more than for you to hurt like I did but it’s clear you didn’t! I don’t know why you’re here but it’s too late to get me back I’ve moved on”

Liam looks hurt at what I’ve just said, he obviously never expected me to move on from him so quickly. He expected to come back and I would just run back into his arms.

“Babe, who is it?” Louis walks to the door and he stops in his tracks when he makes eye contact with Liam standing on the doorstep, he clenches his fists as he stares right into Liam’s eyes, “You have some nerve showing up here after all these months”

“Of course, of course you moved on from me with Louis…I always knew something was going on between you two”

“Yeah right, again why are you here? Haven’t you hurt him enough?”

“Louis, I know what I did you don’t have to bring it up and make me feel worse than I already am! I came to apologise…”

Louis glares at Liam and he can tell Liam’s trying to challenge him but Louis already knows he’s going to win.

“It’s clear I’m not welcome here so I guess I will go, Niall it was nice to see you again. Hopefully talk to you soon?”

Liam steps back and heads down the pathway and I shut the door, my head is hurting. I don’t know what Liam was expecting but it doesn’t matter, he’s gone. I sits back down on the couch with Lousi and I don’t say anything to Louis when he tries talking to me, I can’t stop thinking about Liam’s face when I said I moved on and if I’m being honest I don’t care, I don’t care if he’s hurting because of it.

“Niall? Babe?”

“Huh, sorry, spaced out for a bit”

“You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah I am. You know when he looked upset when I told him I moved on, I should have felt bad but I don’t. I don’t care if he’s hurting, I don’t care about him anymore.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, it’s true. You know a couple of months after he left I fantasised about this moment, I fantasised that he would come back and confess his love and tell me how stupid he was for leaving and I would forgive him and we would finally get married. But now that he’s done that, 10 months too late might I add, I don’t care at all, like I couldn’t give a fuck if he was sorry and he still loved me. Is that bad?”

“Not at all, it means you’ve moved on and you don’t have strong feelings for him anymore. It’s completely normal”

“I love you”

“I love you too babe”

Louis and I go back to watching Supernatural and not once do I think about Liam.

\----  
The doorbell rings again later on in the evening, I hope it’s not Liam again. It might be Louis coming back with the food and he forgot his key again, as soon as I open the door I come face to face with someone that I never thought could hurt me,

“Harry?”

“Hey Niall, can we talk?”

“I have nothing to say to you, I so angry”

“I know but could I just explain, I promise I will make it quick”

I consider letting him inside but its raining pretty heavy and even though I’m angry with him, I don’t want to come across like a dickhead so I do, “Come in, it’s cold out here. I’ll make some tea” He looks uncomfortable and unsure of whether or not he should be inside my house,

“Thanks, didn’t know if you would answer. You looked pretty shocked to see me standing there, I mean I don’t blame you. In fact, I would have punched me in the face if I were you…”

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to say sorry and to explain everything”

“Go on then…”

“Okay, first of all it may have seemed like that but I never meant to hurt you, really I didn’t. I never meant to do this to you”

“But you did!”

“I know I did and I’m sorry okay! Look I don’t want to argue, I want to tell you what happened”

I sit across from Harry and listen to what he has to say, at first I didn’t really want to listen but once he started to explain I sat there and listened, I know I shouldn’t have but I felt sorry for him, he was naïve and he obviously never meant to hurt me the way he did. Once he finished telling me everything I realised that Harry was just a pawn in Liam’s stupid game.

“Niall, I know what we did was horrible and disgusting but I never wanted to hurt you the way you think I did. I’m so sorry, I really am!”

“Harry, calm down…it’s okay”

“What? How is what I did to you okay? you should be yelling and throwing things at me, you should be punching me and telling me you never want to see me again, not telling me it’s okay!”

“Harry, it’s okay! I forgive you!” the tears fall down my face and the two of us are crying together. the front door opens and Louis calls out for me, I can see Harry tense up as he hears Louis approaching, “Hey babe…oh didn’t realise someone was coming over”

“Louis, don’t get mad but guess who came to see me”

Harry turns around with red eyes and waves at Louis, who’s standing in the doorway with a red face. He places the food on the table and the next thing I know is Harry’s holding his nose and bloods pouring out of it, “Babe, what the fuck!”

“Why the fuck is he here? Hasn’t he caused you enough pain? Are you here to rub your marriage to Liam in Niall’s face!?”

“Louis, calm down…Harry’s here to apologise…”

Louis looks angry and he’s not sure if he can believe me when I say he wants to apologise. I go over to him and I kiss him to calm him down, he leans back onto the side and pulls away. His facial expression softens when he looks at Harry who’s still holding his nose,

“Fuck, Harry mate I’m so sorry, does it hurt?”

“Not really but you can really throw a punch”

“Thanks, Zayn will be round soon and his is much worse”

I grab him some paper towel at hold in front of his nose while I wet a tea towel for him, I hand it to him,

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. now I know not to mess with you anymore if Louis going to punch me…look, I really am sorry, both of you. If I could go back I would and I would never do this to you again”

“Harry, it’s fine. I forgive you, it’s Liam I’m madder at”

The door opens and Zayn calls out, Louis yells “In the kitchen!” Harry tenses up and I can’t help but laugh as Zayn walks in and stops dead in the doorway, “Well look who we have here...”

\----

Turns out Zayn wasn’t as angry with Harry as Louis was, apparently Zayn got a message from Harry a few days ago saying he was going to come and apologise to me for what happened. They had met up yesterday and sorted things out between the both of them, which good for them. Louis being the only person who doesn’t care what he says decides to ask Harry the question we’ve all been thinking but didn’t want to talk about,

“So, Harry? Where’s your wedding ring? Judging by the invitation you sent out I thought you would have had a shiny new ring on your finger…”

“Yeah, never went through with the wedding, left before it even happened…”

“What happened? If you don’t mind me asking…”

“Don’t know if you knew but Liam’s been a busy man, he’s been texting with a couple of guys…apparently he’s been doing it for the last year. He was even doing it when you guys were together…”

“yeah, we knew. We also knew you two had been hooking up with each other ever since Liam proposed to Niall…care to explain?”

“Yeah, I know that seems bad but that’s not at all how it happened…you obviously saw the messages between us, with the photos and everything well he was sending me that stuff but I was never replying to them. I kept deleting them all, you have to believe me…”

“It’s fine Harry, I do and it’s okay I forgive you”

Harry smiles and he looks like he’s about to cry again, I pull him in for a hug and he holds onto me tight, “Really guys? I didn’t expect you to accept my apology this easily”

“Hey, we’re your friends. We love you even though you did something really stupid”

It feels weird all of us sitting here and being friendly but in all honesty, I wouldn’t have it any other way. It might take a while for all of us to get back to normal but right now it doesn’t matter.

The other two left an hour later, saying something about going out for a drink or two. I climb into bed with Louis and right now I feel drained. Didn’t realise seeing my ex and my best friend after not seeing them for a long time could make me feel this way. I know I shouldn’t have forgiven Harry easily but I realised when he was apologising it wasn’t his fault, he was following his heart even if that meant ruining relationships along the way.

Right now, all I want to do is forget about Liam and spend time with Louis who’s fast asleep, I wrap my arms around his waist and I drift off to sleep feeling happier that I have in the last few months.


	19. Niall POV

It’s been a year since Liam left and I can honestly say it’s been a long one. I’ve gone through so many different emotions I’m surprised I’m still sane, thought I would have gone crazy. Life is normal now, Louis and I are still together and going strong, most people find it weird that I moved on from Liam so quickly but I don’t care. He officially moved in with me a couple of months ago and I’ve never been happier, mum can agree with me too.

I’ve seen Liam a few times since he left the house that day, he’s been seeing some guy he met at work and coincidentally it’s one of the guys he was texting while he was with me and Harry. I saw him recently at the shops and he looked happy,

***

_It’s late on a Thursday night and there isn’t very many people walking around the store, might be because it’s quite horrible weather. I’m walking down one of the aisles when I bump into someone,_

_“I’m so sorry, wasn’t looking where I was going” I look up and I see Liam looking at me a little bit unsure. I smile politely, “Hey Liam…how are you?”_

_“I’m good, you? How’s Louis, he well?”_

_“Yeah he is, he’s at home…what about you?”_

_“Uh, I’m good…I’ve been seeing someone, I met him at work”_

_“That’s nice…”_

_“Look Niall, I want to say I’m sorry…really, I was stupid for what I did to you and I wish I could have done it differently. I know you might not forgive me as easily as you did Harry but I mean it, I love you okay and I always will but I don’t think we would have made it if we got married. We would probably be in this position but it would probably be because of us getting divorced…”_

_“I forgive you I do…and your right we’d probably be separated. I’m happy for you and I will always love you too…”_

_“Thanks Ni…look I’ve got to go but it was nice to see you again. I would love to catch up for a drink or something one day, maybe dinner if you and Louis want to?”_

_“Yeah, sounds good…bye Liam, take care okay?”_

_“You too” I head down the aisle and I find myself looking back at Liam who’s standing next to someone that could be his boyfriend and when Liam kisses him I know. I find myself turning around and walking back down the aisle, I get towards the end when I start to speed up, “Liam!”_

_Liam turns around and I throw myself into his arms, he laughs as he hugs me back and it’s a little bit awkward but of course it would be after everything that happened between us. I let him go and turn to the man next to him, “I’m Niall”_

_The man looks at me with a raised eyebrow, “You’re the famous Niall, heard a lot about you”_

_“That’s me and you better take care of him yeah? He might look tough but he’s a giant teddy bear at heart and if I find out that you’ve hurt him I will have no problems with hurting you…” The other man looks worried,_

_“Niall’s kidding…”_

_“Don’t worry Niall, would never think about hurting Liam”_

_“Good, both of you take care. Bye Liam, let me know when you want to meet up, numbers still the same” I turn back around and head down the aisle, it’s nice to see Liam happy. I get my phone out of my pocket and dial a familiar number,_

_“Hey babe, I’m on the way home. You’ll never guess who I bumped into…”_

_***_

We’ve caught up a few times since then and it’s been good. Zayn and Harry are together now, turns out Zayn as always been in love with Harry. They’re good together and I couldn’t be happier for the two of them especially Harry who’s had some shit luck with guys in the past, Zayn’s perfect for him.

Many people ask the question ‘Where do broken hearts go?’ and my answer to that is it needs to fall into the right hands to help repair that broken heart,

And I’ve found mine…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who read this story, I hope you enjoyed it


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